Rush Albums From Worst To Best

For a band that has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide, whose streak of consecutive gold and platinum records is topped only by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, trying to nail down the exact reason why Canadian trio Rush is so adored by so many is never easy. Reviled by critics — or worse, completely ignored — for a good portion of their career, Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart have defied odds time and again, the music showing a remarkable amorphous quality, changing with the times yet never pandering, retaining an astounding level of popularity to this day.

Although the band’s groundbreaking combination of heavy metal and progressive rock was what made it famous in the first place, appealing greatly to the teenaged hesher crowd in the ’70s while the critical elite scoffed, to call Rush a “progressive power trio” today is like calling Bob Dylan a protest singer. There’s so much more to the band than that — more musical and thematic variety than many are willing to acknowledge. Rush has dabbled in new wave, electronic music, pop, reggae, and world music, the wide array of instruments all three employ redefining what a rock trio could accomplish onstage. The technical skill of the three musicians is staggering: Lifeson’s expressive, versatile guitar playing, Lee’s impressive dexterity on bass and keyboards — often at the same time — and not the least of which, the inimitable Mr. Peart, the only rock drummer alive for whom everyone remains in their seat when it’s time for his drum solo. Despite the musical chops on display, though, songcraft always comes first. Unlike so many progressive metal bands today, Rush has always known that even prog rock is pointless if it doesn’t have a hook. Not many bands can write an instrumental that compels a crowd of 40,000 people to sing along to it, but Rush have written several.

Additionally, Rush have always been incredibly grounded. Self-indulgent but always self-aware, a sense of levity has always served as a welcome undercurrent in the band’s work, whether making fun of their friends in KISS in a song in 1975, subtitling an instrumental “an exercise in self-indulgence,” the visual puns of the Moving Pictures cover art, or the band’s increasingly absurd and hilarious short films that precede each concert. The music can seem arch at times, but Rush always remember to laugh a little. It’s serious, but more importantly, it’s fun. It’s supposed to be.

Before Iron Maiden, Metallica, and Slayer attracted global popularity with little to no help from radio or mainstream music press, Rush set the standard. Not once did the band rely on music tastemakers to spread the word. Although the band received a couple mildly positive reviews from Rolling Stone, they were never given a proper feature in the 1970s or ’80s. Spin was always too hip for Rush. Goodness knows they never landed on the Village Voice’s annual Pazz & Jop critics’ poll.

Rush might be what Lee whimsically describes as “the world’s biggest cult band,” but never has Rush ever been cool. It’s unapologetically nerdy music, but it’s also welcoming. Cool people need not apply, and there’s something immensely appealing about that. It’s for everyone. If you go to a Rush concert today, you’ll see one of the more convivial environments you’ll ever witness at a rock show. Everyone’s on the same level, three, maybe even four generations represented. A lot more women than you’d expect, shattering the myth that Rush is a boys’ club. During Peart’s solos you’ll see fathers hoist their awestruck children onto their shoulders to witness the mastery at hand. And when “Tom Sawyer” climaxes, people, no matter how hip they are, no matter what age, will be compelled to air-drum along to Peart’s legendary fills.

Whether your favorite album is 2112, Hemispheres, Moving Pictures, Grace Under Pressure, or, heaven help you, Roll The Bones, the unifying factor with all of those records is that Rush have always been uncompromising. When their third album flopped, Rush had a choice in 1976: to acquiesce to the demands of the record label, or to defiantly do their own thing. They chose the latter, achieved worldwide fame soon after, and were never again told what to do. Rush is the living embodiment of integrity in rock music, and it’s for that simple reason that we celebrate the Canadian legends’ vast, rich discography.

As a Rush fan since 1984, I have my own personal favorites — your favorite Rush album is often your first Rush album, so for me it’s Grace Under Pressure — but I took it upon myself to dispose of any trace of fandom and examine all 19 albums (and one mini-album) with as objective a critical ear as possible. Some rankings might be cause for debate, but that’s why I’ve written this piece: for folks to discuss, debate, and above all, celebrate this band’s wonderful, enthralling, and perpetually endearing body of work.

This July marks the 40th year that Dirk, Lerxst, and the Professor have been together. Boys, we wish you well, and thank you for the music. (Also, feel free to follow me on Twitter at @basementgalaxy, where the Rush talk never ceases.)

Rush enthusiasts are nothing if not a little bit obsessive, yours truly included, and no discussion of the band’s discography would be complete without the inevitable comment, “But what about the live albums?” So just to be thorough, here’s a quick ranking of Rush’s live albums, from best to, erm, least worst.

I mean, Caress of Steel below Roll The Bones? I am going to kill myself in the most disgusting manner possible since this world no longer makes sense to me. Up is down and black is white. Next you’re going to tell me that soccer is a big deal. Ridiculous!

Caress of Steel is an absolute masterpiece. Definitely a top 5 Rush album for me. Lakeside Park? The Fountain of Lamneth? The Necromancer? CAPS LOCK RAGE!

I’m a huge Rush fan. I will shamelessly admit I really like Roll the Bones. Alex Lifeson got his groove back with that album and it shows, because I love all the guitar work he did on that album from start to finish. Most people are dismissive of that album because of the cheesy “rap” section in title track. Is it awkward and kind of ruin the song a bit? Yeah, so what? Why be so serious about it? It was done in complete Rush style humor. I can see those guys sitting around and saying lets do a ridiculous rap in this song because we don’t take ourselves seriously.

How DARE you put Caress of Steel that low. And Fly By Night for that matter, but I am biased because that is a personal favorite of mine. Also I am the kind of person who thinks that 2112 is a lot better than Moving Pictures.

I stand behind what I wrote about Caress of Steel. I love “Bastille Day”, but “Necromancer” and “Lamneth” fall completely flat. They’re not in the same league as “2112”, “Cygnus” I & II, and even “By-Tor”.

Not condemning you for digging the album, though! Everyone has a bazillion opinions about a discography this rich, and that kind of discussion/celebration is what this piece was supposed to provoke.

I can definitely agree on Necromancer, but Bacchus’ Plateau, No One At the Helm, and the opening and closing sections of Lamneth really sell it for me. Also, I love Going Bald, if only for Geddy’s killer vocal.

I also think Caress is way too low, but this is a great list otherwise. Thanks for mentioning CFNY and it’s slogan “The Spirit Of Radio”. Rush have never been considered cool, but they were – CFNY was the only commercial station in Toronto where you could hear Joy Division, The Cure and The Clash, and the song celebrates the creativity of the new wave/post-punk scene at a time when Loverboy and Christopher Cross were all over the other stations.

Nice list. I remember I bought a Rush greatest hits albums only knowing the singles from the classic rock station and thinking the sci-fi leaning stuff sounded cool. My mind was shattered by the first listen, and at that point I didn’t even smoke pot!

My biggest beef with Rush is the whole Ayn Rand thing. I mean, Geddy’s vocals on “Anthem” are *sick* but I wish he was screeching something besides his book report on a knock-off libertarian dystopia.

As far as the list goes, I’d put “Permanet Waves” a bit higher. Yeah, it’s a lesser “Moving Pictures” but “Spirt of Radio” is such a magical song. “It’s really just a question of your honest, yeah, your honesty!!!”

Both of my boys (25yrs and 18yrs) grew up listening to Rush and both consider Rush one of their favorite bands. Oddly enough, BOTH OF THEM list “Test for Echo” as their favorite Rush album. It’s not mine, but Rush albums are like pizza…there’s no such thing as a bad one.

18. [Test for Echo] – can’t say I know this one well
17. [Vapor Trails] – or this one
16. Clockwork Angels -not the return to form it’s been hyped to be.
15. Counterparts – The grunge album; sonically, it holds up surprisingly well.
14. Roll The Bones – On the one hand there’s the awful title track; on the other hand there’s Bravado
13. Power Windows – the most 80s sounding 80s Rush album (not meant as a compliment)
12. Rush – The Peartless debut with a couple of classics
11. Caress of Steel – They bite off more than they were ready to chew.
10. Hold Your Fire – Thin, but Force Ten and Time Stands Still are a helluva 1-2 punch
9. Presto – Underrated – the last “good” Rush album from start to finish.
8. Fly By Night – The best of their pre-2112 work by a mile.
7. Grace Under Pressure – The last “very good” Rush album.
6. Signals – Underrated – The last “classic” Rush album.
5. A Farewell To Kings – One of their best.
4. Permanent Waves – Starts off with two of their best songs and keeps going strong from there.
3. 2112 – Their first classic. 36 years down; 98 to go!
2. Hemispheres – Rush at their proggiest.
1. Moving Pictures – Not a frame is wasted on this stone-cold classic.

Every Rush fan invariably has their own drastically different rankings. People fall in love with Rush at different time periods and think that particular era is the best. Being a Gen Xer who was basically living the sentiments expressed in ‘Subdivisions’ as an adolescent when Signals came out, it’s my personal favorite. I would basically start my list at your #3, but of course MP and 2112 have the most critical and popular acclaim, and for good reasons.

Wow, this was a hefty read…and well written. You can’t write a Rush article and by skimpy about it. As many people know, you either love this band or you hate them. There is no in between. As someone who owns their entire discography, I will actually weigh in on this one:

I’m indifferent about Feedback, but it’s a pretty decent album. I always credit the Smashing Pumpkins with inspiring me to pick up a guitar and Rush with actually teaching me how to play it. Their songs are so damn fun to play and I become a tad proud of myself every time I can play one without a mistake.

Wow, nice to see Rush getting press coverage; however, I could not disagree more with the ordering. I am particularly perplexed by Test For Echo, the album that got me back into the band after I drifted away from them for a while, being at the bottom. It is a very strong album with poignant lyrics, strong melodies, and great hard rocking’ moments. It’s worth the price of the CD just for “Driven” — not to mention the title track, Half the World, Totem, Time and Motion, and The Color of Right.

Caress of Steel second from last? For me, this is the break through album for Rush. Where they finally defined their ambitions as musicians and songwriters.

To start with Rush is my favorite rock band EVER, alongside with PRIMUS. Test for Echo is a great album anyway, its true it is plenty “uninspired” but the hell. And Roll the Bones was the first Rush album Ive ever listened, it was literally my introduction to Rush and I instantly fell in love with it. Perhaps it is a mediocre album, but a mediocre Rush album its better than any other contemporary album

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